How to adopt Energy Performance Contracting, Crowdfunding, or Intracting in your region!

PROSPECT+ invited experienced mentors from Croatia, France and Slovenia to talk about how they implemented innovative financing in their region: 

• Sanela Mikulčić Šantić, Cooperative Manager, Križevci, Croatia 
• Sandrine Deternay, City of Albertville, France 
• Vlasta Krmelj, Mayor of Selnica ob Dravi and CEO of ENERGAP, Slovenia. 

Energy Performance Contracting  

Vlasta Krmelj, Mayor of Selnica ob Dravi and CEO of ENERGAP, explained how the Municipality of Maribor refurbished 24 public buildings using Energy Performance Contracting (EPC – working with ESCOs), which in 2019 was the largest energy renovation project in the region. The project cost 12 million euro and resulted in annual reduction of energy consumption by 5,952 MWh, spending on energy by 446,000 euro, maintenance costs by 28,500 euro and CO2 emissions by 1,305 tonnes.  

Vlasta emphasized the collaborative framework required to bring together various funding sources for energy efficiency focused projects. This includes the negotiation processes with ESCOs, securing municipal funds, and the operational dynamics of fusion funds. Among others, she highlighted the project planning phases, stakeholder engagement, and the criteria for selecting buildings. She also talked about the attitudes to EPC from building energy managers and the benefits from engaging private partners in optimising energy use based on carefully analysed demand. 

Crowdfunding and microloans

Sanela Mikulčić Šantić, KLIK Cooperative Manager, introduced a crowd-investing project that allowed Krizevci to mobilise funds for a photovoltaic installation on a municipal development centre. The town raised €54,000 from 93 citizens offering a 4.5% interest rate. This project not only demonstrated financial viability but also sparked the formation of a local cooperative, and tested a model that had not been addressed in the national regulations.  

Sanela highlighted the project’s impact on promoting renewable energy, fostering community engagement, and demonstrating the viability of alternative financing models for sustainable energy initiatives. Her presentation provided insights into the challenges and successes of mobilizing community resources and support for renewable energy projects. 

Internal contracting

Sandrine Deternay shared insights into Albertville City’s approach to energy savings, emphasizing actionable steps and internal fund rotation to finance energy-saving measures. This strategy led to increased innovation capacity within the city’s departments, enabling larger-scale projects.   

Sandrine explained how the fund was established and utilized to finance initial energy-saving projects, with the savings generated from these projects being reinvested into new initiatives. She detailed the process of tracking savings and managing the fund to ensure its sustainability and impact over time. The presentation underscored the benefits of revolving funds in creating a self-sustaining mechanism for continuous investment in energy efficiency – crucial given the scale of the required investments.  

Engage, Learn, and Innovate with PROSPECT+ 

The discussions and case studies not only inspired attendees, triggering many questions to the mentors, but also provided a blueprint for replicating successful projects in their own communities. 

The webinar underscored the importance of starting with small, manageable projects, building community support, and seeking out expert advice to navigate the complexities of project financing and implementation. The upcoming last learning cycle offered by PROSPECT+ is one of such opportunities. 

The webinar also gave a flavour of what PROSPECT+ mentees can expect when working with the mentors.   

Dive Deeper with PROSPECT+: last opportunity to join the learning programme 

Interested in exploring more about these innovative approaches to financing energy transition on the regional and local level?  

PROSPECT+ is your gateway to a wealth of resources, mentorship opportunities, and a community of experts ready to support climate action and energy transformation on local and regional levels across Europe.  

Whether you’re looking to initiate an energy renovation project or explore renewable energy sources, PROSPECT+ offers the tools, knowledge, and networking opportunities to help turn your region’s vision into reality by choosing the best financing option. 

Apply to become a PROSPECT+ mentee 

If you apply by 15 March, you can still join international and local groups for the final learning opportunity: Apply to the programme 

Would you like to learn more about these and other financing instruments?  

Join the Community of Practice for additional online meetings where you can learn from the mentors and share your experience. 

More information 

• Download the presentations: PDF 
• Apply by 15 March 2024 to join the last capacity-building cycle as a mentee: learn more 
• Connect with us on Linkedin: click here